M. L. Rio
@mlrio.bsky.social
Bestselling author of HOT WAX, GRAVEYARD SHIFT, IF WE WERE VILLAINS. Vinyl nerd, recovering academic, road tripper, dog lady. Pre-order HOT WAX here: https://linktr.ee/mlrio
Pinned
If anybody’s in Wisconsin this spring and wants an imaginative break from the cold (or not!) I’m doing a workshop as part of my Write On, Door County residency on February 17:
writeondoorcounty.org/inspire_even... #booksky #writing
writeondoorcounty.org/inspire_even... #booksky #writing
Author Talk: Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Writing Place, Space, and Setting with M.L. Rio - Write On Door County
The best novels in any genre are inescapably immersive, redolent with sensory detail that transports you across time and space. How do writers achieve this full immersion effect in fiction? Does setti...
writeondoorcounty.org
January 8, 2026 at 4:52 PM
If anybody’s in Wisconsin this spring and wants an imaginative break from the cold (or not!) I’m doing a workshop as part of my Write On, Door County residency on February 17:
writeondoorcounty.org/inspire_even... #booksky #writing
writeondoorcounty.org/inspire_even... #booksky #writing
New year, new book, new gear ✍️ I've got six months to get a fresh draft down on paper and I'm writing it all up in the newsletter and annual subs are cheap as hell through January 9, come getcher writing bites ✨
open.substack.com/pub/mlriodis... #booksky #writing
open.substack.com/pub/mlriodis... #booksky #writing
New Year New Gear
What's in my writing arsenal for 2026
open.substack.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:01 PM
New year, new book, new gear ✍️ I've got six months to get a fresh draft down on paper and I'm writing it all up in the newsletter and annual subs are cheap as hell through January 9, come getcher writing bites ✨
open.substack.com/pub/mlriodis... #booksky #writing
open.substack.com/pub/mlriodis... #booksky #writing
Hey, guess what? HOT WAX hardcovers are 50% off: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hot-wax-m-...
Hot Wax: A Novel|Hardcover
Hot Wax is “a propulsive father-daughter story” (Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Visit from the Goon Squad) and a journey of self-discovery that “captures the joy and danger of rock ...
www.barnesandnoble.com
January 2, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Hey, guess what? HOT WAX hardcovers are 50% off: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hot-wax-m-...
Saw three different articles this morning about how print magazines and other physical media are making a comeback, and to this I say YES. FUCK YES. If the backlash to the tech bro bullshit is a return to analog and tangible connection I am HERE for it.
December 20, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Saw three different articles this morning about how print magazines and other physical media are making a comeback, and to this I say YES. FUCK YES. If the backlash to the tech bro bullshit is a return to analog and tangible connection I am HERE for it.
Christmas came early and IF WE WERE VILLAINS ebooks are on sale for $2.99 across platforms -- today only! 🫖 #booksky @flatironbooks.bsky.social
December 17, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Christmas came early and IF WE WERE VILLAINS ebooks are on sale for $2.99 across platforms -- today only! 🫖 #booksky @flatironbooks.bsky.social
Loved doing this craft chat with The Creative Independent about sensory writing and the tricky sophomore novel
thecreativeindependent.com/people/autho...
#writing #booksky
thecreativeindependent.com/people/autho...
#writing #booksky
December 17, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Loved doing this craft chat with The Creative Independent about sensory writing and the tricky sophomore novel
thecreativeindependent.com/people/autho...
#writing #booksky
thecreativeindependent.com/people/autho...
#writing #booksky
Listen. “Maybe I should go to grad school!” is a normal response to the times of crisis we’re living through as lovers of letters, but take it from a person who sacrificed a decade of her life and her physical health for a useless PhD:
That’s the devil talking.
That’s the devil talking.
December 16, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Listen. “Maybe I should go to grad school!” is a normal response to the times of crisis we’re living through as lovers of letters, but take it from a person who sacrificed a decade of her life and her physical health for a useless PhD:
That’s the devil talking.
That’s the devil talking.
Really love to see the team behind this cover get the credit they deserve! Thanks to @lithub.com.web.brid.gy and @simonbooks.bsky.social ❤️ Curious what goes into the cover conversation? I did a whole post about that.
open.substack.com/pub/mlriodis...
#booksky #coverart
open.substack.com/pub/mlriodis...
#booksky #coverart
December 11, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Really love to see the team behind this cover get the credit they deserve! Thanks to @lithub.com.web.brid.gy and @simonbooks.bsky.social ❤️ Curious what goes into the cover conversation? I did a whole post about that.
open.substack.com/pub/mlriodis...
#booksky #coverart
open.substack.com/pub/mlriodis...
#booksky #coverart
Brooklyn! Hot stuff just dropped at both Books Are Magic locations and @barnesandnoble.com Atlantic Ave 🎁 @simonbooks.bsky.social #booksky
December 10, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Brooklyn! Hot stuff just dropped at both Books Are Magic locations and @barnesandnoble.com Atlantic Ave 🎁 @simonbooks.bsky.social #booksky
New York! Came up to stuff your stockings with signed stock ✨ HOT WAX, IWWV, and GRAVEYARD, check @strandbooks.com @bnunionsqnyc.bsky.social and @mcnallyjackson.bsky.social Soho (and tomorrow some stops in Brooklyn)! #booksky #nyc @simonbooks.bsky.social
December 9, 2025 at 7:59 PM
New York! Came up to stuff your stockings with signed stock ✨ HOT WAX, IWWV, and GRAVEYARD, check @strandbooks.com @bnunionsqnyc.bsky.social and @mcnallyjackson.bsky.social Soho (and tomorrow some stops in Brooklyn)! #booksky #nyc @simonbooks.bsky.social
Get lit this holiday season and support some indies, it's the gift that keeps on giving 💜 @bookshop.org @simonbooks.bsky.social bookshop.org/info/2025-gi...
December 9, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Get lit this holiday season and support some indies, it's the gift that keeps on giving 💜 @bookshop.org @simonbooks.bsky.social bookshop.org/info/2025-gi...
Reposted by M. L. Rio
Recovery read-a-thon book 12: If We Were Villains by @mlrio.bsky.social
I'm still trying to process this one. Hit me hard on so many levels. Talk about a book hangover. Not sure I'll ever recover.
#readit #ifwewerevillains
I'm still trying to process this one. Hit me hard on so many levels. Talk about a book hangover. Not sure I'll ever recover.
#readit #ifwewerevillains
December 5, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Recovery read-a-thon book 12: If We Were Villains by @mlrio.bsky.social
I'm still trying to process this one. Hit me hard on so many levels. Talk about a book hangover. Not sure I'll ever recover.
#readit #ifwewerevillains
I'm still trying to process this one. Hit me hard on so many levels. Talk about a book hangover. Not sure I'll ever recover.
#readit #ifwewerevillains
It's the question I get most often and I finally got around to it: where do stories come from? open.substack.com/pub/mlriodis... #booksky #writing
Discovery Phase
Where stories come from
open.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:44 PM
It's the question I get most often and I finally got around to it: where do stories come from? open.substack.com/pub/mlriodis... #booksky #writing
Grateful to be featured in @electricliterature.com again this year and pleased to see them standing on their values. Why not consider donating to support continuing literacy in these very scary times? electricliterature.com/every-writer... #booksky #books
Every Writer We've Published in 2025 - Electric Literature
Stand strong with our writers by supporting us today
electricliterature.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Grateful to be featured in @electricliterature.com again this year and pleased to see them standing on their values. Why not consider donating to support continuing literacy in these very scary times? electricliterature.com/every-writer... #booksky #books
A writer at work must and will always have at least three beverages on the go at once
December 2, 2025 at 3:51 PM
A writer at work must and will always have at least three beverages on the go at once
I recently did a high school classroom visit to talk about IWWV and by far my favorite feedback was "she has a great sense of humor and I didn't think I would find a person with a PhD in English literature to be funny." My child, nobody survives that without an appreciation for black comedy.
November 24, 2025 at 4:35 PM
I recently did a high school classroom visit to talk about IWWV and by far my favorite feedback was "she has a great sense of humor and I didn't think I would find a person with a PhD in English literature to be funny." My child, nobody survives that without an appreciation for black comedy.
Reposted by M. L. Rio
Whoa hey now -- STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS gets a shout-out in The Atlantic courtesy of @mlrio.bsky.social -- !!
November 19, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Whoa hey now -- STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS gets a shout-out in The Atlantic courtesy of @mlrio.bsky.social -- !!
Reposted by M. L. Rio
I have a strong preference for the, let's say, plot-forward novel, as does @mlrio.bsky.social. www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...
Eight Plot-Heavy Books That Will Keep You Turning Pages
Some readers enjoy plotless, heady fiction. Those who don’t should try these titles.
www.theatlantic.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:12 PM
I have a strong preference for the, let's say, plot-forward novel, as does @mlrio.bsky.social. www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...
Big thanks to @readbookpage.bsky.social for naming HOT WAX one of their best books of 2025, "a passionate novel that takes readers on a turbulent joyride while exploring both the glory and the gore of live rock ’n’ roll." www.bookpage.com/best-books/b... @simonbooks.bsky.social #books #booksky
The 10 Best Mystery & Suspense Novels of 2024
Many of 2025’s best mysteries and thrillers mixed and matched genres with abandon, leading to startling hybrids.
www.bookpage.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Big thanks to @readbookpage.bsky.social for naming HOT WAX one of their best books of 2025, "a passionate novel that takes readers on a turbulent joyride while exploring both the glory and the gore of live rock ’n’ roll." www.bookpage.com/best-books/b... @simonbooks.bsky.social #books #booksky
One fun thing about being a writer is the life of surprising synchronicities, like this Blondie doppelganger spotted in my neighborhood. Fiction can follow you around like that for ages after the fact. (In other news, if you also like hot cars, you should read HOT WAX.)
November 17, 2025 at 7:30 PM
One fun thing about being a writer is the life of surprising synchronicities, like this Blondie doppelganger spotted in my neighborhood. Fiction can follow you around like that for ages after the fact. (In other news, if you also like hot cars, you should read HOT WAX.)
Austin people! Would love to see ya tomorrow at @bookpeople.com 🎸 @simonbooks.bsky.social #booksky #books
October 28, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Austin people! Would love to see ya tomorrow at @bookpeople.com 🎸 @simonbooks.bsky.social #booksky #books
Fun to see GRAVEYARD SHIFT back for an encore at @reactorsff.bsky.social reactormag.com/creeping-fun... #booksky #books
Creeping Fungus: Nine Works of Sporror - Reactor
If you love mushrooms or just want some creepy reads to add to your TBR, this list is for you!
reactormag.com
October 26, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Fun to see GRAVEYARD SHIFT back for an encore at @reactorsff.bsky.social reactormag.com/creeping-fun... #booksky #books
